Primary Navigation Menu

American History » Colonial

Colonial

Colonial Web Sites

Do History: Martha Ballard
DoHistory invites you to explore the process of piecing together the lives of ordinary people in the past. It is an experimental, interactive case study based on the research that went into the book and PBS film A Midwife’s Tale, which were both based upon the remarkable 200 year old diary of midwife/healer Martha Ballard. There are thousands of downloadable pages from original documents: diaries, letters, maps, court records, town records, and more as well as a searchable copy of the twenty-seven year diary of Martha Ballard. DoHistory engages users interactively with historical documents and artifacts from the past and introduces visitors to the pivotal questions and issues raised when “doing” history. DoHistory was developed and maintained by the Film Study Center at Harvard University and is hosted and maintained by the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.

Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association/Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield, Massachusetts has launched a rich and impressive website that focuses on the 1704 raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts, with the goal of commemorating and reinterpreting the event from the perspectives of all the cultural groups who were present – Mohawk, Abenaki, Huron, French, and English. The website brings together many resources – historical scenes, stories of people’s lives, historical artifacts and documents, essays, voices and songs, historical maps, and a timeline – to illuminate broad and competing perspectives on this dramatic event.

The Plymouth Colony Archive Web Site
This site focuses on Plymouth from 1620 to 1691 and has been selected as one of the best humanities sites on the web by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Includes fully searchable texts of early laws, court records, wills, and probates; analyses of the colony legal structure, domestic relations, early settlement, criminal records, and interactions of the Wampanoag people and the colonists; biographical and social network profiles of members of the colony; a study of social and legal relationships between indentured servants and masters; and archaeological analyses of house plans and material culture.

Archiving Early AmericaA worthwhile commercial site for links to historical documents, biographies, and even on-line books, on 18th century America. These archival materials are displayed in their original formats so they can be read and examined close-up and in detail. Of special interest is the Maryland Gazette containing George Washington’s Journal of his historic trip to the Ohio Valley. It is the only original copy privately held. Materials are free for personal use.

Divining America: Religion and the National Culture – 17th and 18th Centuries
TeacherServe®, is an interactive curriculum enrichment service offering teachers practical help in planning courses and presenting rigorous subject matter to students. Divining America: Religion and the National Culture is designed to help teachers of American history bring their students to a greater understanding of the role religion has played in the development of the United States. In The First Great Awakening section, Historian Christine Leigh Heryman of the University of Delaware offers a concise explanation of the scope and impact of the First Great Awakening. In Puritanism and Predestination she offers a clear explanation of Puritan beliefs. Other topics include Witchcraft in Salem Village; Religion, Women, and the Family in Early America; The Church of England in Early America; Religious Pluralism in the Middle Colonies; Native American Religion in Early America; and Religion and the American Revolution.

America’s Story: Colonial America (1492-1763)
America’s Story is a site for children from the Library of Congress and is designed to be both entertaining and fun to use. The Colonial America (1492-1763) section contains “stories” (concise essays with images) including “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”, “Jamestown Was Established”, “Salem Witch Trials”, “Christopher Columbus Saw Land!”, and “George Washington Was Born”.

Early America’s Digital Archives
The Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities has produced a searchable collection of electronic texts written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820. The Archive also features a collection of links to early American texts on the Internet. Open to the public for research and teaching purposes.

Religion and the Founding of American Republic (Library of Congress)
Part of a special exhibit by the Library of Congress, this site provides an interesting mix of images, primary text, and background information on the role of religion in the European settlement of America. America as a Religious Refuge: The 17th Century looks at religious persecution in Europe that drove so many to British North America where settlers often established colonies centered on passionate religious convictions. Religion in 18th-Century America concentrates on the nation’s first major religious revival, the Great Awakening, which took place from 1740-1745.

The American Colonist’s Library
A massive collection of historical works which contributed to the formation of American politics, culture, and ideals. Arranged in chronological sequence (500 B.C.-1800 A.D.). A very helpful scholarly resource.

American Centuries: View from New England
Explore American history with this digital collection of approximately 2000 objects and transcribed document pages. An image of each of these items appears on an Item Page accompanied by interpretive text available on age-appropriate levels. Museum staff authored the text content with review by teachers, school librarians, and nationally recognized scholars. This site is essentially a large library of primary resources, curricula, and interactive student activities mostly presented in age-appropriate, user-friendly formats.

Virtual JamestownThe Virtual Jamestown Archive is an on-going digital research, teaching, and learning project that explores the legacies of the Jamestown settlement and “the Virginia experiment.” There are first-hand accounts and letters, interpretive essays, and more.

Jamestown Rediscovery
The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities’ Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project provides a history of Jamestown and resources.There is a timeline of events and references leading up to and through the establishment of Jamestown and lists of early settlers with occupations. There are also a couple of online exhibits that provide a “behind the scenes” look at the way archaeologists find out about objects excavated on Jamestown Island.

Secrets of the Dead: Death at Jamestown
This PBS site puts forth the theory that residents died of arsenic poisoning and the plague. Among the multimedia features are an interactive tour of Jamestown, as well as videos of a rebuilt church in Jamestown, an archeological dig, and views of the city.

Africans in America; The Terrible Transformation, 1450-1750
Part of PBS’s African-American Journey site, here you’ll find part one of a rich collection of resources — images, documents, stories, biographies, commentaries — on the experience of slavery in America. There is also a useful teacher’s guide and activities for students. There are three other parts to explore: Revolution: 1750-1805, Brotherly Love:1791-1831, and Judgment Day: 1831-1865.

Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 (Library of Congress)
Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 is part of the American Memory Historical Collections of the Library of Congress and features pamphlets and books documenting the experiences of African and African-American slaves in the American colonies and the United States. There are cases; reports; examinations of cases; and works concerning slaves, fugitive slaves, slave revolts, the African slave trade, and more. A great site for research.

MayflowerHistory.com
A worthwhile site for researching the history of the Mayflower. Contains important primary source documents related to the ship’s voyage, a history of the Mayflower, representations of the ship, and more.

Plimoth Plantation
This Plimoth Plantation site tells of Wampanoags and Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1692. In the Historical Background section you can browse articles site historians have written on a broad range of topics. There is also a comprehensive interactive activity that builds students’ understanding about the harvest celebration of 1621, which is often erroneously referred to as “The First Thanksgiving.” It is supported by an online teacher’s guide, “Becoming a Historian,” which has lessons that correspond to each activity on the site along with additional resources and information. There are also details about how Plimoth Plantation fulfills the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, 1620
This is a detailed study guide for use by teachers, students, and enthusiasts. You can use the “Search this Site” field that will look for any topic within the 75 options. Also, clicking on the “Site Map” will produce an interactive map that allows for selection of any of the individual web pages. Duane Cline, the creator of the site, has written two books: Navigation in the Age of Discovery: an Introduction, and Centennial History: General Society of Mayflower Descendantsand has twice been invited to serve as a Guest Curator at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

U.S. History.org
The Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia has produced this fun and engaging site where you can enjoy a virtual tour of Philadelphia and visit Betsy Ross’ House. You can also learn why Pennsylvania is misspelled on the Liberty Bell and the story of its crack. The Electric Franklin provides resources for you to explore the diversity of Benjamin Franklin’s pursuits, and there are several section that deal with the revolutionary war.

Pilgrim Hall Museum
Through its exhibition of Pilgrim possessions and Native American artifacts, Pilgrim Hall tells the stories of America’s founding and traditions. The museum features an online tour of artifacts owned by Pilgrims. “The Pilgrim Story” combines artifacts with historical information to illuminate the Pilgrim and Native American story to 1692, when Plymouth Colony as an independent entity came to an end. “Beyond the Pilgrim Story” gives additional information about particular aspects of the Pilgrim story that have been of interest to visitors.

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
A tourist-oriented site, but one with useful links to resources for students and teachers. Sections include Teacher Resources, Electronic Field Trips, History Explorer, Clothing, Gardens, Archaeology, and more. There are lesson plans, pictures, and information about daily life. Check out the “almanack”.

Salem Witch Trials
This site is a documentary archive of the Salem Witch Trials and features court records, personal letters, maps of the area, and more. The Archive contains educational information, such as biographical profiles, a collection of images containing portraits of notable people involved in the trials, pictures of important historic sites, historical paintings, and published illustrations taken from 19th and early 20th century literary and historical works. The Documentary Archive is created under the supervision of Professor Benjamin C. Ray, University of Virginia.

Famous American Trials: Salem Witch Trials
This site include transcripts of trial records and examinations of six accused witches and other relevant primary source documents. There is a chronology, selected images, a map of Salem, Petitions of Accused Witches, an interactive game, and much more. The materials included in the Famous Trials website are original works of authorship, government records, works for which copyright protection has expired, works reprinted with permission, or works the webmaster believes are within the fair use protection of the copyright laws.

Scientific American Frontiers: Unearthing Secret America
In this episode archaeologists shed new light on life in colonial America and the lives of slaves. Archeologists Marley Brown and Fraser Neiman uncover evidence that reveals much about the lives of slaves in America during the colonial period up through the 19th Century. Nice mix of concise texts and historic images.

Internet Modern History Sourcebook
The Internet History Sourcebooks are wonderful collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use by Paul Halsall at Fordham University. The site and its documents are well organized and the breadth of materials is impressive. Under the heading of The Early Modern World is Colonial North America, which includes documents on Early Conquest and Exploitation, Political Forms, Virginia, New England, Middle Atlantic, American Society.

Smithsonian: Within These Walls
The National Museum of American History presents the history of a 250-year-old house built in the mid-1760s, in Ipswich, Massachussetts and five of the families that occupied it. The site helps one understand the great events of the nation’s past through these families.

Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture (OIEAHC)
The College of William and Mary and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation founded the Institute of Early American History and Culture in 1943 and still jointly sponsor its work. The Institute’s full-time professional and support staff is responsible for a variety of valuable research and publication programs for scholars. Most services are fee-based but Uncommon Sense is a free online journal on early American history to which you can subscribe. Important site for serious scholars.

Thanksgiving: Memory, Myth, and Meaning
This site on Thanksgiving, prepared by Plimoth Plantation museum staff, responds to the most frequently asked questions about the First Thanksgiving and attempts to re-create the original 17th-Century event.

Ben Franklin: Glimpses of the Man
This site explores Franklin’s roles as a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist. It is meant to help you learn about Ben Franklin and also to let you see how Ben’s ideas are still alive in our world today. You might begin by looking at the family tree. There are recommended resource materials, enrichment activities, and a brief glossary.

Salem (National Geographic)
A flashy and interactive introduction to the Salem Witch trials where the visitor “experiences” the trials. Engaging site for students.

The Leslie Brock Center for the Study of Colonial CurrencyA well organized and informative project developed at Notre Dame University. Read the introductory article “Colonial Currency, Prices, and Exchange Rates”. Explore contemporary pamphlets, dealing primarily with Massachusetts and New England, or references that are less well known, such as unpublished dissertations and manuscripts. Interesting and useful page for professional historians, as well as casual visitors.

The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual RecordThis searchable collection of a thousand images is useful to teachers, researchers, students, and the general public. The collection provides a glimpse into pre-colonial Africa and the experiences of enslaved Africans who were transported to the Americas. Compiled by Jerome Handler (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) and Michael Tuite (Digital Media Laboratory, University of Virginia).

13 Originals: Founding the American Colonies
Timepage.com offers concise essays on various aspects of the original thirteen colonies. Also provides access to several different maps of the colonies, and Colonial charters, grants, and related documents.

Classics of American Colonial History
This collection of historical documents from Dinsmore Documentation contains select scholarly books and articles on American colonial history. Their goal is to add four documents (articles or book chapters) per week and readers are invited to suggest further public-domain documents for digitization. The directory of documents by subject includes African Americans and Slavery, British Colonial Policy, Economics and Trade, Immigration from Europe, Religion, Wars and more. You can also browse by author. Very helpful resource for scholars.

History Buff.com: Colonial Newspapers
A series of concise essays from HistoryBuff.com about Colonial Newspapers: The First Ten Newspapers in America , America’s First Papermill: The Rittenhouse Mill, The Beginnings of Illustrated Journalism, Roger E’LeStrange Aristocratic Publisher, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, The Acquittal of John Peter Zenger, The Revolutionary War in the West. See also: Producing Newspapers 1692-1792.

Fire and Ice: History & Biography
Part of Fire & Ice: Puritan and Reformed Writings, this section has materials written by various authors about the Puritans or other Reformed subjects. There are separate listings for the sermons and extracts in the Table of Contents.

H-AtlanticH-Atlantic is an international online discussion list for Atlantic World History from 1500 to 1800. This an interdisciplinary list for scholars who study colonial North America and the United States, Europe, West Africa, the Caribbean, and South America in a transatlantic context.

The Real Pocahontas
Compares and contrasts the real Pocahontas with her portrayal in the Disney movie.

A Colonial Family and Community
Be a history detective. Go back in time and investigate the daily lives of the Daggetts, a colonial family from northeastern Connecticut. Collect clues to uncover answers to 7 questions about colonial life in the 1700s. Then prove your skills as a history detective by discovering What’s wrong with this picture?

George Washington – Lesson Plan
Using letters from the Library of Congress collection “George Washington Papers, 1741-1799,” three units are designed to allow students to examine Washington’s leadership during pivotal events in early American history: the French and Indian War, the Federal Convention, and Washington’s presidency. A main goal is to understand both Washington’s role in early America and the reasons for his rise to prominence. Featuring pre-selected letters from LOC collections and focus questions to evaluate each document, the lesson promotes careful explication of the meaning and implications of primary sources. Designed for grades 8 to 12.

Tinker, Tailor, Farmer, Sailor – Lesson Plan
To understand how geographic factors affected where European settlers established colonies, students compare primary sources from the Library of Congress’ American Memory collections for three distinct regions: New England, the mid-Atlantic and the South. By comparing and contrasting the experiences of settlers, students understand the importance of regional differences and how settlers adapted to new environments. A wide range of sources including drawings, business proposals and government documents are used to address the role of region in settlement. The lesson plan includes specific activities and guides on how to use class time and also identifies specific American Memory items to be used. Designed for grades 4 to 8.

Death at Jamestown
In 1607 one hundred and four men landed in Virginia to form Jamestown, a settlement that was the birthplace of the United States. But by the end of the first year, all but thirty-eight of the over one hundred settlers had died. Why did this happen? Acting as historians and scientists, students read primary and secondary source materials, evaluate climatology data, and analyze artifacts to learn about the mystery surrounding the Jamestown deaths. Students will also take a critical look at information and evaluate the motives, interests and biases expressed in primary and secondary sources. The lesson concludes by having students consider a new theory about a possible conspiracy responsible for the Jamestown deaths, form an opinion about it, and defend their position.

The Colonial Challenge
Answer a range of easy to difficult questions and test your knowledge of early US history

Thanksgiving (Library of Congress)
Through this Learning Page activity, you investigate the American tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving, which began in colonial times.

Will the Real Ben Franklin Please Stand Up?In this middle school or high school lesson plan, students will research and debate Benjamin Franklin’s most significant role and contribution to the history of the United States. Which was most important to American History – Benjamin Franklin’s work as a printer, a writer, a statesman, or an inventor? After completing their research, students will have to prepare 10-minute oral and visual presentations to support their position. After presenting their work, they will also be expected to answer questions and ask them of the other groups.